Projection device



2, 1962 J. M. CHRISTENSEN 3,056,334

PROJECTION DEVICE Filed Jan. 15, 1958 FI l INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,056,334 PROJECTION DEVICE Joseph M. Christensen, 75 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago, Ill. Filed Jan. 13, 1958, Ser. No. 708,494 Claims. (CI. 8828) This invention relates to a means as employed in a game where the winner is identified by his photograph which is selected by chance from a large group of photographs.

Various schemes and devices, sometimes taking the form of games, have frequently been used as devices for stimulating business. Heretofore, the games most interesting and attractive to people were not suitable for certain kinds of businesses such as stores or shops, where there was no space or time for customer participation. Furthermore, the cost of such games that were played had to be carried by a single business, usually a theatre, because of their available facilities. This meant that the value of the prizes or the frequency with which the game could be played was limited, and so some of the interest in the game was lessened. What is needed, therefore, and comprises the principal object of this invention, is a combination, which will hereinafter be referred to as a game, which can operate as a cooperative enterprise among a plurality of businesses so that the expense of running the game and furnishing the prizes can be divided among all the sponsoring businesses.

A further object of this invention is to provide a means operating as a cooperative enterprise by various businesses, which attracts people to these businesses and in addition provides a means for continually advertising these businesses.

Still another object of this invention is to provide apparatus adopted as a cooperative enterprise by various businesses, at least one of which may include a theatre, and which operates to attract people to these businesses and to the theatre, and which in addition provides a convenient means for introducing subtle visual advertisements of the products and services offered by the sponsoring businesses during the course of the game.

These and other objects of this invention will become more apparent when read in the light of the accompanying drawing and specification wherein- FIGURE 1 is a schematic elevational view of a magazine camera which is adapted to take pictures on a roll of film at periodic intervals;

FIGURE 2 is a schematic diagram showing a picture projector and a control system connected thereto for automatically projecting pictures onto a screen from a roll of film inside the projector which is being advanced one frame at a time at periodic intervals, and

FIGURE 3 discloses a modified portion of the control system disclosed in FIGURE 2 in which means are provided for moving the film inside the picture projector very rapidly and for stopping this movement for an indefinite period.

Referring now to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, the mechanical parts of the game include at least one magazine camera indicated generally by the reference numeral 10. This camera is conventional and takes a photograph and moves a roll of film inside the camera through one frame, each time the operating lever 12 is rotated in the clockwise direction. A cam 14 is adjacent this operating lever 12, and this cam is rigidly attached to a shaft 16 which is rotated by an electric motor 18. The speed of rotation of this shaft can be controlled by a standard gear reduction system (not shown), so that the shaft can be rotated as slowly or as rapidly as desired. With this "ice arrangement it can be seen from an inspection of FIG- URE 1 that the operating lever 12 will be actuated each time the cam 14 is rotated through one revolution, so that the camera 10 will take one photograph on each frame in the roll of film at regular intervals.

Another part of the game includes an electrically powered picture projector, indicated generally by the reference numeral 20, for projecting the pictures on the developed film 21 taken by the magazine camera 10. A solenoid 22 is mounted inside the projector and this solenoid is adapted to drive a magnetically responsive actuating rod 24 which is reciprocably movable inside its core. This actuating rod 24 is connected to a conventional film-advancing means (not shown) inside the picture projector. The film-advancing means is adapted to advance the film one frame each time it is actuated. When the solenoid is energized, the actuating rod 24 is attracted into its core, and this movement actuates the film-advancing means. When the solenoid 22 is de-energized, the actuating rod 24 is urged by means of a connected spring 26 partially out of the core of the solenoid and this moves the film-advancing means into position for advancing the film another frame when the solenoid is again energized. So if the solenoid 22 is periodically energized and de-energized, the film will move through the picture projector at a predetermined rate.

A normally open electric control switch 30 is mounted on the body of the projector and connected to solenoid 22 for conveniently energizing and de-energizing it. As seen in FIGURE 2, the power to the projector is supplied through power lines 32 and a main switch 34. These lines extend inside the projector to operate an electric lamp and a cooling fan (not shown), but which are mounted inside the housing 36. One of the power lines 32 is connected to terminal 31 of switch 30. When this switch is closed, electric current flows therethrough to a terminal 33 which is common both to switch 30 and to solenoid 22.. The other power line is connected directly to terminal 35 of the solenoid to provide a return path for the electric current. With this arrangement it can be seen that by closing the switch 30, the solenoid will be energized causing the actuating rod 24 to actuate the filmadvancing means and move the film one frame through the projector.

A pair of frame control lines 38 and 40 are connected at one end to terminals 31 and 33 of the switch 30. The opposite end of line 40 is connected to a spring member 42 which supports an electrical contact 44. The opposite end of line 38 is connected to a spring support member 48 through a disabling switch 46. This member 48 supports an electrical contact 50 which is normally disposed in closely spaced parallel relationship to electrical contact 44 to form an electric off-on switch, indicated generally by the reference numeral 47. It is apparent that with the disabling switch 46 closed and with the contacts 44 and 50 engaging each other, switch 30 is by-passed and the solenoid 22 is energized.

An automatic mechanism indicated generally by the reference numeral 51 is provided for continuously operating the off-on switch 47, by causing the electrical contacts 44 and 50 to engage and separate from each other at regular intervals so that the projector can change pictures automatically and periodically. This mechanism includes an electric motor 52 which is connected to power line 32 by means of connecting lines 62 and 63. The operation of the motor is governed by a motor control switch 64 which is connected in line 63. A conventional transmission 54 is connected to and driven by this motor, and the output of this transmission drives an output shaft 56 so it rotates very slowly. This shaft is rigidly connected to a cam plate 58 and causes it to rotate on its axis. As the cam plate rotates, the cam surfaces 60 which are disposed on its periphery in uniformly spaced intervals, engage spring support member 48 and cause the contacts 50 and 44 to contact each other. As the cam surfaces 60 move out of engagement with the spring support member 48, the spring support member returns to its rest position and the engagement between the contacts 50 and 44 is broken. This mechanism, which has the effect of continuously energizing and de-energizing the solenoid 22, causes the film in the picture projector to be advanced at a predetermined rate.

A normally open manually operated remote control switch 66 is connected to line 38 by a line 68 and to line 40 by line 70. When this switch is closed the control switch 30 is by-passed. This arrangement provides a convenient means for advancing the film in the projector one frame at a time, independently of the operation of the automatic mechanism 51 from a point remote from the projector 20.

Although many variations of this game are possible, it is contemplated that it will be played in this way. A camera mechanism of the type shown in FIGURE 1 is placed in the stores and shops of each of the sponsoring businesses and is directed against a door or against a predetermined area through which customers walk. The camera automatically takes pictures of this area and the persons entering it at periodic intervals during business hours. Advertising displays are preferably positioned as a back drop to this area so that each time a person is photographed this display will be included. When the winner of the game is to be determined, the film in all the cameras is developed and is inserted in a picture projector as described in FIGURE 2 it is desirable for one of the sponsoring businesses to be a theatre because it has the facilities for the projection of the film and for the seating of the participants in the game.

To start the automatic mechanism 51 described above, the control switch 30 is opened, while the main switch 34, the disabling switch 46, and the motor control switch 64 are closed. This causes the projector 20 to project the pictures on the film in sequence on the screen 2 8. Then at some arbitrarily selected time, the automatic picturechanging mechanism is stopped by opening the disabling switch 46, and the person whose photograph appears on the screen 46, and the person who photograph appears on the screen at that time is determined the winner and entitled to the prize. If that person is not present, the process for selecting another winner may be repeated. If the time for doing this is insufiicient, or if the photograph of the selected winner should be too blurred to be identified, the manually operated, normally open remote control switch 66 may be momentarily closed to advance the film one frame to select as a winner the next identifiable person whose photograph appears on the film. This remote control switch is very useful because it may be necessary for the operator of the game to control the picture projector from a point which may be on the stage of the theatre.

If the available time to play the game is limited, the mechanism shown in FIGURE 3 may be used to cause cam 58 to rotate rapidly by means of a motor 55 so that the individual pictures will change too fast to be recognizable. This motor may be controlled by a push button 65, so that the winner can be selected by releasing the push button to stop the motor at some preselected time. When the motor stops, the person whose photograph re mains on the screen may be identified as the winner and given the prize.

One of the most important features of this game is the strong appeal it has to the vanity of the players because it gives them the opportunity of seeing their picture projected on a large motion picture screen. This appeal will attract customers to the sponsoring stores and shops and to the theatre and will hold their attention during the game because of their desire to see their own picture being projected. This is important because each projected picture may have a background which includes subtle visual advertisements of the products or services offered by the sponsoring businesses. Furthermore, there is little likelihood that their important message will be lost due to the inattention of the audience.

As an alternative to this arrangement, a moving picture camera (not shown) may be substituted for the magazine camera described above, and a brief motion picture may be taken of persons entering the predetermined areas in these shops and stores at frequent or periodic intervals during business hours. This would require that a conventional moving picture projector (not shown) be substituted for the picture projector 20 described above. In such a case, control switch 30, when closed, would cause the motion picture projector to operate. A portion of the control system would include a remote control cutoff switch to stop the picture projector when a winner is to be determined, so he can be identified. In this way the audience or participants in the game would watch brief motion pictures of themselves entering the stores and shops of the sponsoring businesses. This would have an even greater appeal to their vanity and would induce them to enter these stores and shops and go to the theatre, just to see their pictures on the large motion picture screen. The advertising possibilities of this arrangement would be enhanced because advertising displays which would appear in the background of these motion pictures could be animated to better attract the attention of the viewers.

The invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof as set forth in the claims, and the present embodiment is therefore to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive and it is intended to include all changes which come within the scope and range of the claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus of the class described, comprising in combination a picture projector, an electric control switch connected to said picture projector, said picture projector including means for changing the picture each time said control switch is actuated, and an electric off-on switch, said ofi-on switch connected to said picture projector and to said control switch to by-pass it, means connected to and continuously driving said off-on switch to cause the picture projector to change pictures at a predetermined rate, and means for disabling said off-on switch to hold a projected picture on a screen for an indefinite period.

2. An apparatus of the class described, comprising in combination a picture projector adapted to sequentially project pictures onto a screen from individual frames in a roll of film, an electric control switch connected to said picture projector, said picture projector including means for advancing the film a distance of one frame through the projector each time said control switch is actuated, and an electric off-on switch, said off-on switch connected to said picture projector and to said control switch to by-pass it, means connected to said off-on switch to continuously operate it to cause the picture projector to change pictures at a predetermined rate, and means for disabling said continuously operating oli-on switch to hold a projected picture on a screen for an in definite interval.

3. An apparatus of the class described, comprising in combination a picture projector adapted to sequentially project pictures onto a screen from individual frames in a roll of film, an electric control switch connected to said picture projector, said picture projector including means for advancing the film a distance of one frame through the projector each time said control switch is actuated,

and a continuously operating electric off-on switch connected to said control switch to bypass it, said continuously operating off-on switch including an electric motor, a shaft connected to and rotatably driven by said motor, a cam plate rigidly connected to said shaft and rotatable therewith, electrical contacts connected to the terminals of said control switch, said electrical contacts positioned closely adjacent to each other and to the surfaces of said cam plate, whereby the rotation of said cam plate on the axis of said shaft causes said electrical contacts to move into and out of engagement with each other to by-pass said control switch and cause the picture projector to change pictures at a predetermined rate, and electrical means for disabling said continuously operating electrical off-on switch to hold a projected picture on a screen for an indefinite interval.

4. An apparatus of the class described, comprising in combination a picture projector adapted to sequentially project pictures onto a screen from individual frames in a roll of film, a normally open electric control switch connected to said picture projector, said picture projector including means for advancing the film a distance of one frame through the projector each time said control switch is closed, and a continuously operating electric off-on switch connected to said control switch to by-pass it, said off-on switch including an electric motor, a transmission connected to said motor and driven thereby, said transmission connected to and rotating an output shaft, a cam plate rigidly connected to said output shaft and rotatable therewith, electrical contacts positioned closely adjacent the surfaces of said cam whereby the rotation of said cam plate on the axis of said output shaft causes said electrical contacts to move into and out of engagement with each other to by-pass said control switch and thereby cause the picture projector to change pictures at a predetermined rate, manually operated remote control means connected to the terminals on said control switch for advancing said picture frames independently of the rate they are being advanced by said continuously operating electric off-on switch, and electrical means for disabling said continuously operating electric off-on switch to hold a projected picture on a screen for an indefinite interval.

5. An apparatus of the class described, comprising in combination an electrically powered picture projector adapted to sequentially project pictures onto a screen from individual frames in a roll of film, said picture projector having an electrical solenoid mounted therein, an electric control switch mounted on said picture projector and connected to said solenoid to energize it and deenergize it when said control switch is closed and opened, a magnetically responsive actuating rod movably mounted in the core of said solenoid and adapted to actuate means on said projector for advancing the film one frame through the projector each time the control switch is closed and said actuating rod is attracted into the core of said solenoid, and a continuously operating electric off-on switch connected to said picture projector and to said control switch to by-pass it, said off-on switch including an electric motor, a transmission connected to the shaft of said motor and driven thereby, said transmission connected to and rotating an output shaft, a cam plate rigidly connected to said output shaft and rotatable therewith, electrical contacts positioned closely adjacent the surfaces of said cam and connected to the terminals of said control switch, whereby the rotation of said cam plate on the axis of said output shaft causes said electrical contacts to move into and out of engagement with each other to continously energize and de-energize said solemaid and thereby cause the projector to change pictures at a predetermined rate, a manually operated remote control switch adapted to be connected to terminals of said control switch for advancing said picture frames independently of the rate they are being advanced by said continuously operating electrical off-on switch, and electrical switching means for disabling said continuously operating electric off-on switch to hold a projected picture on a screen for an indefinite interval.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,771,509 Ott July 29, 1930 1,986,398 Ireland Jan. 1, 1935 2,025,361 Skilling Dec. 24, 1935 2,299,973 Getten Oct. 27, 1942 2,652,745 Quinn Sept. 22, 1953 2,835,176 Land May 20, 1958 

